Tournaments are friendlier than they sound. Most welcome newcomers, and playing a few structured sessions against strangers is one of the fastest ways to improve.
Mahjong tiles are miniature works of art: hand-carved bone, painted birds and flowers, Art Deco plastics, and the colourful designer sets of the 2020s. Tile design is a story of craft and taste.
Mahjong is a game of incomplete information, but counting visible tiles turns guesses into estimates. Here is how to count your outs and judge your chances.
All pungs — four triplets and a pair — is one of the most popular mid-value hands. It is easy to recognise, often fast with calls, and scores well in most styles.
Zung Jung is a rule set designed in 2006 by Alan Kwan to combine the clarity of competition rules with the feel of classic Chinese mahjong. Its compact scoring list makes it easy to learn.
Yakuman are the rarest, most valuable hands in riichi: thirteen orphans, four concealed triplets, big three dragons, all honours, all green, nine gates and more, each worth the maximum score.
Hong Kong's licensed mahjong parlours — the famous neon-lit "mahjong schools" — have their own rules, payment tables and etiquette. Here is what to expect if you step inside.
Good American play starts with picking hands that fit your tiles and the jokers, keeping options open through the Charleston, and switching smoothly when the tiles turn against you.
Taiwan plays a distinctive sixteen-tile mahjong with tai scoring, has its own "healthy mahjong" movement for older people, and produced some of the first big online mahjong platforms in Chinese.
The dead wall is a block of tiles set aside at the break. It supplies replacements after kongs and flowers and, in Japan, holds the dora indicators. Here is how it works and why it matters.
Mahjong tiles have been made from bone and bamboo, ivory, celluloid, Bakelite, melamine and acrylic. The material tells you a set's age and origin, and affects how it feels and sounds.
Online platforms let you play any style at any hour, practise against computers and review your games. Here is how to choose a platform and get started safely.
